Jameela Jamil slams Met Gala celebration of Karl Lagerfeld
By Iris Jung
“She Hulk” star Jameela Jamil called out the Met Gala and its celebrants for commemorating controversial fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Jamil, 37, wrote, “Last night Hollywood and fashion said the quiet part out loud when a lot of famous feminists chose to celebrate at the highest level, a man who was so publicly cruel to women, to fat people, to immigrants and to sexual assault survivors.”
“It’s not just Hollywood here,” “The Good Place” actor continued in her post’s description. “The general public online participated and were entirely complicit in the erasure of the truth last night.”
Jamil also noted that “some of his greatest harm was against Muslim refugees, and the disgusting way he spoke about people fleeing their homes for fear of their lives.”
“Why is THIS who we celebrate when there are so many AMAZING designers out there who aren’t bigoted white men? … Sorry, but no. This isn’t the 90s. We didn’t fight all this sh*t just to throw it all away because some white guy made some pretty clothes for people’s skinny faves… come on now,” she concluded.
Jamil, who previously expressed her objection to this year’s Met Gala theme in October 2022, was one of the fashion event’s many critics.
The theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” was chosen to celebrate the legacy of Lagerfeld, who died in 2019.
Numerous celebrities walked the red carpet in extravagant outfits inspired by the fashion titan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday.
Lagerfeld began his fashion career in the 1950s, working with popular names such as Balmain, Fendi and Chloé.
However, the German designer is best known for his work at Chanel, with many crediting him as responsible for revitalizing the French luxury brand. Lagerfeld served as Chanel’s creative director from 1983 until his death.
Despite Lagerfeld’s significant contributions to the fashion industry, the designer has faced backlash for his controversial views.
In addition to mocking body positivity movements, he was accused of being Islamophobic and fatphobic, which Jamil mentions in an Instagram post she shared in October 2022.
The actor included several screenshots of Lagerfeld’s previous statements from interviews. In a 2009 interview with German magazine Focus, Lagerfeld stated that “no one wants to see curvy women” on the runway. He also said, “You’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly. The world of beautiful clothing is about dreams and illusions.”
In 2018, he told fashion magazine Numero, “If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model!” and suggested that they instead “join a nunnery.” Several people accused him of opposing the #MeToo movement due to such statements.
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